Red Review is a recurring series that takes an analytical lens to Nebraska sports. Ideas are always welcome, so sound off in the comment section below or Tweet at the contributors, Josh Planos (@JPlanos), and Tyler White (@white_tyler), on what sport you'd like to see covered and what element of the sport you think warrants a discussion.

The Nebraska Huskers are in the midst of another organizational watershed moment -- this time, a new head coach and essentially brand-new coaching staff will be leading the team onto the field for the 2015 season.

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Trim the fat surrounding the last decade of Nebraska football and you'll find a team yearning to be elite, but mostly remaining middle of the pack. It is both the luxury and the curse of touting a program considered by many to have had the best team and season in the history of a respective sport. There will only be one 1995 Nebraska football team. In the past decade, Nebraska has become a team clawing to stay relevant -- and it has: The Cornhuskers have earned a spot in a bowl game in all but two seasons since 1970. And yet there's still such longing for more. Former head coach Bo Pelini was canned after seven consecutive seasons of nine or more wins, and here we are.

With the season-opener a few months away (Sept. 5, against Brigham Young University), let's look ahead to some pressing challenges and talking points the Huskers will face in Mike Riley's inaugural season as head coach.

1. Can Armstrong progress to the next level?

What's most remarkable about Tommy Armstrong is that despite accruing a 16-5 record as a starter, and holding the longest pass in the history of the program and in NCAA bowl history -- he still polarizes Husker fans.

The 21-year-old Cibolo, Texas, native has essentially captained the ship for Nebraska the past two seasons. He has gone down with the vessel and steered it to shore. When pundits croaked that he couldn't be a deft pocket passer -- having never thrown for more than 200 yards in nine games in 2013 -- he did. Armstrong eclipsed the 200-yard threshold in passing yardage in 62 percent of the team's games a season ago. In the Holiday Bowl against USC, he threw for a career-high 381 yards and three touchdowns; the highest figure for a Nebraska quarterback since Joe Ganz threw for 484 yards against Colorado in 2007.

It's true that Armstrong is a volatile quarterback, the kind who can put up gaudy box score figures only to follow it up with a 62-yard passing performance in a high-stakes matchup. He can dazzle and collapse in the same game, seemingly from series to series. However, last season, he was one of just 15 quarterbacks to rush for more than 700 yards (705) and one of just 51 to throw for 2,690 yards. He started in a spot near the kids' table and ended up in the VIP lounge, finishing No. 47 in ESPN's adjusted total quarterback rating metric, which takes into account the value a quarterback provides on all play types, adjusted for strength of opposing defenses faced. There's a reason why this offense ranked in the top 35 nationally last season, and whether critics are willing to give him the credit or not, he's responsible for a sizable portion of the reason why.

If it wasn't glaring before, Johnny Stanton's decision to transfer earlier this month was just another nail in the coffin: The starting role is Armstrong's to lose.

His career completion percentage, which hasn't been higher than 53.3 percent in either of his two seasons with the program, will need to improve. As a team, the Huskers ranked No. 109 in pass completion percentage.

"Sixty percent should be a baseline for Tommy," KETV's Andy Kendeigh posited recently.

Riley's offense is considered a pro-style approach because it utilizes tight ends and only occasionally sets up in shotgun, but that's a stark contrast from what Armstrong had grown accustomed to working in former offensive coordinator Tim Beck's schema.

Incumbent offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Danny Langsdorf not only helped New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning to the best statistical season of his professional career, but he also helped the Beavers to the No. 2 passing offense and No. 3 total offense in the Pac-12 Conference in 2008. Five years later, the team set a program record for total yardage.

A solid slice of the qualms levied against Armstrong is his inability to quickly scan the defense and make split-second reads. Some would argue that setting up under center only heightens the need for a quarterback with strong acumen, but much of the discourse surrounding Armstrong can be quieted with improvements -- particularly in reading coverage and effectively going through reads -- this summer.

2. Can Nebraska continue to convert in third-down situations?

One of the more undersold elements in distinguishing the wheat from the chaff of college football is the ability to convert on third downs. In each of his three National Championship Game appearances, Urban Meyer's teams have absolutely dominated opponents in these situations; it's no surprise that Meyer and his teams have won all three.

Last season, seven of the 10 teams in the Associated Press's Top 25 end-of-season rankings also held a top-10 position in third-down conversion percentage. That isn't a coincidence: Save for Alabama in 2012, no team that has won the BCS National Championship Game since 2010 ranked lower than No. 12 in the metric.

Nebraska has also been particularly potent in these situations, ranking No. 59 in 2014. Oregon State University -- Riley's most recent coaching stop -- on the other hand, has been noticeably ineffective in third-down situations, ranking an average of 93rd in the country since 2012.

Third-down situations can be assessed from both sides of the ball, and last season, Nebraska was even more efficient at stopping opponents during them. Opposing teams converted third downs just 30.1 percent of the time -- the fifth lowest average in the country; OSU allowed opponents to convert on 41.9 percent of opportunities, which ranked No. 81.

With third down spots becoming increasingly pivotal in college football, particularly in late-game situations, the ability to convert and disallow the opponent to maintain their drive is paramount. The history of primetime football is littered with examples of teams that were unable to get their opponent off the field. Riley should look to take a page out of Nebraska's book and continue the positive trend.

3. Can both sides of the ball control penalties?

Erroneous mistakes haven't necessarily plagued Nebraska, but ill-timed mistakes certainly haven't helped. Jake Cotton became a perennial Internet meme when he fell backwards for a false start against Michigan State last season, effectively canceling the drive. It didn't necessarily help the Huskers, who lost 27-22 that night -- a game decided by one possession. The countless penalties accrued during Bill Callahan's tenure and the first few seasons of the Pelini era were enough to give the Cornhusker faithful nightmares.

Last season, the Huskers averaged 0.4 penalties per play -- good for No. 59 in the country -- and finished No. 64 in penalty yards per game (52.5). OSU averaged 76.3 penalty yards per game, the eighth most penalties of any Division 1 team.

Riley's new coaching staff collectively brings more than 100 years of collegiate football coaching experience to the table, but the quickest way to fray the relationship between coach and fan is to have a team beat itself.

4. Can the running backs step up?

The Huskers had the 19th-best rushing attack in college football last season, upheld by senior captain Ameer Abdullah's record-breaking campaign that led to him being one of three Doak Walker finalists; the award is given to the nation's top running back. Abdullah graduated, leaving an irreplaceable void in the backfield. The historic I-back amassed 52 percent of the team's total rushing yards last season, even after missing essentially an entire game.

In the seasons subsequent the departure of marquee running backs -- Ahman Green prior to the 1998 season, Roy Helu prior to the 2011 season, Rex Burkhead prior to the 2013 season -- regressions are, obviously, noticeable. They also can create avenues for new talent to excel, but will that be the case with Terrell Newby, who hasn't rushed for 300 yards in either of the last two seasons, Imani Cross, who eclipsed the 100-yard threshold once a season ago, or Adam Taylor, who hasn't had a single college rushing attempt and is working his way back from an ACL tear?

5. Will there be consistency in the kicking game?

True freshman place kicker Drew Brown converted 14 of 21 field goals a season ago, but the team ranked No. 83 in field goal conversion percentage -- a far cry from the team's top 10 ranking in 2013.

Riley brought with him his special teams coach Bruce Read, who has 29 years of experience working with special teams units. Read had great success at Oregon State, leading the Beavers to the No. 2 ranking in field goal conversion percentage.

Brown was one of the youngest kickers in college football, and is now being taken under the wing of one of the more experienced special teams coaches around. Read helped the Beavers create a lot of momentum before leaving, but will that translate at Nebraska?

Riley has plenty on his plate in his first season as head coach of the Husker football program; he knows this. A bevy of experienced coaches will work to assist him: Read, Mark Banker, Mike Cavanaugh, Hank Hughes all bring more than 20 years of college football coaching experience to Lincoln. Nobody knows what the team will look like when they burst out of the tunnel in September, but there's plenty for them to be focusing on in order to improve upon last season.

Statistics provided by ESPN and TeamRankings.com. KETV's Tyler White contributed in the construction of this article.